**Abstract**

Banana is one of the most well-known and useful plants in the world. Almost all the parts of this plant, that are, fruit, leaves, flower bud, trunk, and pseudo-stem, can be utilized. This chapter deals with the fiber extracted from the pseudo-stem of the banana plant. It discusses the production of banana pseudo-stem fiber, which includes plantation and harvesting; extraction of banana pseudo-stem fiber; retting; and degumming of the fiber. It also deals with the characteristics of the banana pseudo-stem fiber, such as morphological, physical and mechanical, durability, degradability, thermal, chemical, and antibacterial properties. Several potential applications of this fiber are also mentioned, such as the use of this fiber to fabricate rope, place mats, paper cardboard, string thread, tea bags, high-quality textile materials, absorbent, polymer/fiber composites, etc.

**Keywords:** banana, pseudo-stem, fiber, production, extraction, characteristics, applications

## **1. Introduction**

In recent years, people have focused on forest preservation and finding a rational way to use agricultural and forest residues. This trend is caused by the rapid increase in consumption of wood fiber-based products, which may result in an illegal logging activity due to decreasing permitted wood resources. Additionally, the use of cellulose fiber from the forest and agricultural residues has many advantages, such as environmental friendliness, recyclability, and low cost or even free raw material. Statistically, the annual production of lignocellulose fiber from crops in the world was about 4 billion tons (i.e., 60% agricultural produce and 40% forest produce). Compared to other major commodities, the global annual production of steel was only 0.7 billon tons, while that of plastic was only 0.1 billion tons [1]. These data show us the high opportunity for the utilization of cellulose fiber.

Banana plants, which belong to the family of Musaceae, are native to the Malaysia-Indonesian region of South-East Asia. Bananas are widely produced and abundant natural resources in tropical and subtropical countries in the world [1–3]. The banana plants are considered as one of the world's most useful plants. Almost all the parts of this plant, for example, fruit, peel, leaf, pseudo-stem, stalk, and inflorescence (flower), can be utilized [3, 4]. They are used in several food and nonfood-related applications, for example, as thickener, colorant and flavoring, macroand micro-nutrient source, livestock feed, fibers, bioactive compound source, and

organic fertilizers [4]. The banana leaf is frequently used in food processing (in some countries, e.g., Indonesia), food esthetic, food packaging, etc. The banana fruit itself is one of the most popular fruits and important diet due to its high nutritional content [5], thus it becomes a valuable commodity all around the world. The banana pseudo-stem has also been considered for use as pulp and paper raw material, fiber for textiles, and filler or structural reinforcement in composites materials [6–10]. Additionally, all parts of the banana plant have some medical added values, such as the flower can be cooked and consumed by diabetics, bronchitis, dysentery, and ulcer patients. The banana pseudo-stem sap can be orally taken or externally applied for stings and bites. The young leaf can be used for skin irritations (as a poultice). The roots, ashes of leaves, peels, and seeds also can be used for medicinal purposes in some countries [11]. In recent years, banana fruits have been the fourth most important fruit crop produced in the world. Approximately, 72.5 million tons of banana fruit are produced yearly in the world [2]. The fruit can be consumed directly (after ripe) or processed into other products, for example, dried fruit, smoothie, flour, ice-cream bread, etc. [5]. The flower bud can also be processed into a dish.

The most widely known banana plant species for its fiber is Abaca (*Musa textiles*). Its fiber is highly important among the leaf fiber group, whereas the most common banana that is consumed by humans is a member of *Musa acuminata* species [12]. Figure 1 shows the photograph of banana tree and its several parts. The pseudo-stem of banana plant is the stem of banana plant that provides and transports nutrients from the soil to the fruits. This pseudo-stem will be cut and become waste biomass after the banana fruit is ripe and harvested, because the banana plant is unusable for the next harvest [1, 12, 13]. For every ton of banana fruit harvested, about 100 kg of the fruit is rejected (i.e., rotten fruit) and approximately 4 tons of biomass wastes (e.g., leaf, pseudo-stem, rotten fruit, peel, fruit-bunch-stem, rhizome, etc.) are produced. This means, for every cycle of banana fruit production, four times of biomass wastes are also produced [13]. Based on another literature, it can be estimated that one hectare of banana farm could produce approximately 220 tons of biomass wastes [12] (**Figure 1**). These wastes are usually disposed of by the farmer into lakes and rivers or simply burned. The banana tree wastes if not properly managed can cause problem to the environment, because if they are dumped in wet conditions or burned can produce greenhouse gas, which can cause a problem to the environment [12]. It is believed that this crop waste can be used in a more rational way, namely, as a source of cellulose fiber for further applications [9].

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**Figure 2.**

*Percentage data of banana production across the world in 2010 [15].*

*Banana Pseudo-Stem Fiber: Preparation, Characteristics, and Applications*

The pseudo-stem is a part of the banana plant that looks like a trunk, which consists of a soft central core and tightly wrapped up to 25 leaf sheaths. These leaf sheaths unwrap from the stem and transform to recognizable banana leaves when they have matured. The height of banana plant can reach approximately 7.5 m and since the leaf sheaths grow from the base of the plant, some of the leaves, on the inner side, have approximately the same length of the tree. Whereas the outer side leaves, which grow later, are shorter. The width of the banana leaves can reach

The pseudo-stem fiber of banana plant is like the pineapple leaf, sisal, and other hard fibers, though the pseudo-steam fiber is a little more elastic. The major uses of banana pseudo-stem fiber are in making specialized and high-quality sanitary products such as baby pampers, textiles, and papers such as banknotes. The banana pseudo-stem fiber can also be used for ropes such as marine rope since this fiber has good resistance to sea water and has buoyancy properties. Other uses of this fiber are for making coffee and tea bags, filter cloths, as reinforcement fibers for plaster, disposable fabrics, and light-density woven fabrics. According to the literature, the production of Abaca (*Musa textiles*) fiber in the world has reached around 100,000 ton/year. The production in the year 1960 was also near this amount (i.e., 97,000 ton/year), whereas in the year 2002, the production of Abaca was about 99,320 ton/ year. **Figure 2** shows the data percentage of banana production across the world in 2010.

The banana plant has a shallow rooting system in which the pseudo-stems sprout

vertically. As it develops, a single plant may produce about 25 of these pseudostems, which mature at different times. When the plants are 18–24 months old, the outer pseudo-stems are already mature and ready to be harvested. Then, about three or four pseudo-stems are stripped at a period of 6–12 months based on the rate of growth of the pseudo-stem. When the flower is out, the pseudo-stems are completely ready for harvesting. Furthermore, the shaft is cut off below the inflorescence with a knife or sickle attached to a long pole and then the pseudo-stems are cut at their base. Based on the extraction methods, the pseudo-stems can be either

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82204*

**2. Production of banana pseudo-stem fiber**

approximately 30 cm [14].

**2.1 Plantation and harvesting**

**Figure 1.** *Several parts of banana tree (photos were taken on August 17, 2018).*

*Banana Pseudo-Stem Fiber: Preparation, Characteristics, and Applications DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82204*

The pseudo-stem is a part of the banana plant that looks like a trunk, which consists of a soft central core and tightly wrapped up to 25 leaf sheaths. These leaf sheaths unwrap from the stem and transform to recognizable banana leaves when they have matured. The height of banana plant can reach approximately 7.5 m and since the leaf sheaths grow from the base of the plant, some of the leaves, on the inner side, have approximately the same length of the tree. Whereas the outer side leaves, which grow later, are shorter. The width of the banana leaves can reach approximately 30 cm [14].
